Combination valve



Feb. 16, 1960 c. B. CURRIE 2,925,221

COMBINATION VALVE Filed Nov. 15, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.COURTLAND B. cuRRlE ATTORWE Y Feb. 16, 1960 c. B. C'URRIE 2,925,221

- COMBINATION VALVE Filed NOV. 15, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.COURTLAND B. CLRRIE COMBINATION VALVE CourtlandQB. Currie, Los Angeles,Calif., assignor to Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company,Minneapolis, Minn, a corporation of Delaware Application November 15,1955, Serial No. 546,852

2Claims. (Cl. 236-48) The invention described herein relates tocontroldevices orcombination valves of the type that embodies a plurality ofvalves for serving various functions. More particularly, the invention.relates to the combination of a safety valve, atmanually operable valveand a condition responsive valve all compactly arrangedin a singlehousing in such a manner as to facilitate the use thereof.

The invention is primarily adapted to be used as a control for waterheaters of the gas burning type and, since the space in which waterheaters are generally located is quite small, it is highly desirablethat the control'l for the water heater be as small as possible, be ofpleasing appearance, and above all, safe and reliable in operation.

One of the objects of this invention is toprovide a controldevice-whichwill meet the above described specifications. 1

Another object of the inventionis to provide .a controlidevice-whichincorporates a manually reset thermocouple safety valve, a manuallyoperable plug .valve for controlling theflow. of gas from the inlet ofthe control to apairof outlets, one to the main burner and onertothe-pilot burner, a thermostatically operated valve downstream of theplug valve, and a filter and adjusting valve: in series and downstreamof the. plug valve. and in the-pilot burner line.

A further object of the invention is to provide a control device whichmay be easily manufactured and relativelyinexpensive, yet sturdy inconstruction and re liable in operation.

A still further object of the invention is to provide in a substantiallyrectangular-shaped control housing, a pair of substantially parallel gasflow passages leading from a safety valve through a plug valve and tomain burner and pilot burner outlets, so as to provide 100%:safet-shutoif ofv the gas and to provide a maximum rate of gas:flow.

Affurther object of the invention is to provide a mounting 'bracketfor acontrol device which Will serve thetfunctionof sealing an opening in thecontrol device, supporting the thermostatic or other condition re-SPOIlSlVGvIIlBEHS. and providing a guide for the valve actuated by.-.thecondition responsivemeans.

Still other objects: of: the invention will become apparent upon;reading the following detailed description of the invention inconjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

.Figuretl isan elevational view of the control device or combinationvalve with portions thereof broken away andportionsshownin.crosssection;

Eigure12is a cross sectional view taken along the line 2;.2.ofFigure ,1and Figure 3, is a cross sectional view taken along the1ines:3;-.-3,;of, Figure; 1*.

Asscan. best be seen. in-Figure 3 of the drawing, the

control; device comprises a main body portion 11 having aechamher; 12opening to the rear of the body and a chamber. 13 open n to, the frontor the body; The

atent ing into the chamber13, a chamber 17 open at its side,

and a stepped bore, 18 (Figure 2) leading from the chamber 17 toathreaded outlet 19 which is adapted to be connected to a pilot burner.A threaded outlet 20 extends from the chamber 12 through the bottom wallof the body 11.

Intermediate the ends of the stepped bore 14, is a reduceddiameterportion 14a which provides an annular shoulder 14b, between the portion14a and an intermediate diameter portion 14c extending to the top of thebody 11. Positioned in the portion 14a, with a pressed fit, is a sleeve21 which terminates at its lower end in a valve seat21a and which has anexternal diameter portion 21b which rests against the shoulder 14b.Theinner cylindricalwall portion of the upper end of the sleeve 21serves as atvalve seat for a piston valve to be described hereafter.

Threaded into the bottom open end ofthe bore 14 is an electromagneticunit of conventional construction which includes an electromagnet (notshown) and a movable armature (not shown) that isconnected to an axiallyslid able stem 23, which, in turn, is connected to a disk valve 24. Theunit 22 is adapted to be connected to a thermocouple, shownschematicallyat T, the thermocouple being adapted to be heated :bya pilot burner Pwhich, in turn, is adapted to ignite=a main burner B. A coil compressionspring. 25 normallyibiases the disk valve 24 into sealing engagementwith the valve seat 21a and the armature (not shown) =away fromthe.electromagnet.

Threaded into portionl4c of the bore 14 is a hollow plug 26havinganaperturedend 26a and an openupper end. A manually operable resetstem 27 extends through the aperture in. the end 26a. A stem 27 carriesat its upperend, a knob 28 having a skirt portion 28a which engages theupper end of the stem 27 and which carries a sleeve 29 surrounding theskirt. portion 28a which, in turn, has a skirt portion 29a that extendsinto the hol: low portion of the plug 26 to serve as guide means forthe. stem. The inner end of the stem 27 has an annular groove thereinthat retains an abutment washer 3Q. Spaced inwardly from the inner endof the stem 27, is an interrupter valve" in the form of a flexiblewasher 31 which is adapte d to fit snugly in the. sleeve 21 as a pistonto prevent the flowof gas through the sleeve before the end-;,of-thestem 27 engages the head of the valve disk 24 tomoveit to its openposition. The washer 31 is maintained-in its assembled position by meansof a pair of, axially slidable metallic washers 32, one located on eachside. thereof, a fixed washer 33 on the stem 27 above the. washers 31-and 32, and a coil compression spring 34; extending between the abutmentwasher 30 and the lower one of the washers 32;.

Positioned in the bore 16, is arotatable plug valve 35 that has anaxialibore. 35a therein extending inwardly from. the bottom end thereofand an intersecting radial bore 35btherein intermediate its ends whichisadapted to register with a bore 114 extending from the tapered bore 16,to the portion. of bore 14, below the plug 26 Also formed in the outerperiphery of the plug valve, is anarcuate groove 35cthat is adapted toregister witha bore 11a extending through a front wall of the bodyzll,andarcuate groove 11h, formed in thewall of the bore 6 and extendingfrom the bore lle, toward but: spa5: e ci from the bore 71, to providegas flow to the pilot burner when the plug valve is in either its. on

of the sleeve 21, through the sleeve 21 and a bore 11! through a frontwall of the body 11 and terminating in a groove 11g formed in the outerface of the front wall of the body '11. The groove l l g extends fromthe bore 11! to the bore 11c. V i

' A partition wall Ila-separates the two chambers 12 and 13. It has atubular opening 11b therethrough substantially at right angles to thefront surface of the body portion 11 and an opening 11c therethroughnear the outlet 20 which terminates in a valve seat on the chamber 13side of the partition 11a.

A front cover plate 40 is secured to the body 11 by screws (not shown)with a gasket therebetween and over the groove 11g and around theperiphery of the chamber 13 to thus form a gas-tight passage between thegroove 11g and gasket 41 extending from the bore 11] to the bore lle andto seal the chamber 13 from leakage to the atmos'phere. The plate 40also clamps a ring 42 of rubber or other suitable material against thefront end of the tubular opening 11b in the partition 11a.

A disk valve 43 is held against a backing head 44 by means of a metallicwasher 45. The washer 45 is biased against the disk valve 43 by means ofa coiled compression spring 46 that has the other end thereof positionedin an annular groove in valve stem 4411. A coiled compression spring 47is positioned between the plate 40 and the valve head 44 to normallybias the valve 43 into sealing engagement with the partition 11a aroundthe opening 110, serving as a valve seat.

The valve 43 is guided in its movement toward and away from the valveseat by means of a guide pin 48 having a plurality of longitudinallyextending ribs thereon, which guide pin is rigidly secured in a mountingbracket 49 bolted to the rear side of the body 11. A gasket 50 islocated between the bracket" 49 and the periphery of the open side ofthechamber 12. The guide pin extends through a valve actuating sleeve 51and is axially slidable in a bore 44b of the valve stem. The guide alsoextends into a bearing sleeve 52 having a flange thereon that engagesthe closed end of the'valve stem. A coiled compression spring 53 isadapted to provide friction between the valve stem 53 and the actuatingsleeve 51. The outer end of the sleeve 51 has a flanged portion 51a thatis adapted to be engaged by a snap disk 54 having a radially extendingarm 54a that engages the portion 51a of the actuating sleeve 51. As canbe seen from the drawing, the distance across, or the diameter of theflange 51a, is over one-third and nearly one-half of the distance fromthe center of the valve stem to the center of the snap disk.

The snap disk 54 is actuated by a fixed pivot member 55 abutting againstbracket member 49 and having a shoulder portion 55a on which a centralapertured portion of the snap disk 54 rests and a movable abutmentmember 56 that bears against the outer periphery of the disk 54 througha spider member, a disk having radially extending fingers of relativelyheavy material and designated by the reference numeral 57.

, Movable abutment 56 is actuated by a conventional rod and tubetemperature responsive unit, generally designated by thereferencenumeral 58. It comprises a temperature responsive tube 59 anchored atits outer end, by an internally and externally threaded plug 60, to asmall-diameter rod or wire 61. The inner end of the tube 59 is threadedinto the bracket member 49 while the inner'end of the rod 61 is threadedinto an adjusting nut 62 hearing against the inner end of the movableabutment 56. Theadjusting' nut has diametrically opposed axiallyextending slots 62a therein which receive radially extending arms 63 onan adjusting stem 64.

The stem 64 has an enlarged diameter portion 64a that is rotatablylocated in the tubular portion 11b of the 'wall lla. This enlargeddiameter portion is also engaged by the sealing ring 42 between theplate 40 and theend of the wall portion llb'to' provide a gas-tight sealaround the stem to prevent the leakage of gas from the chamber 12 to theatmosphere.

. The calibration of the thermostatically controlled unit may be variedby means of a clamping screw 65 threaded into the outer end of the stemportion 64a and through a mounting sleeve 66 for a control knob 67. Byloosening the screw 65, the sleeve 66 may be rotated with respect to thestem 64 and thereby change the calibration of the controL. Tightening ofthe screw 65 will lock the mounting sleeve on the stem 64 by forcing thetapered'bore of the sleeve 66 upon the tapered end of the stem portion64a. It is to be noted that the knob 67 is secured to the sleeve 66 bymeans of a set screw 68 threaded radially into a threaded bore 69 in theknob. Obviously, the control point at which the rod and tube willactuate the snap disk to open the valve 43 may be varied by rotating theknob 67 and thus thread the adjusting nut 62 longitudinally of the rod61 to vary the position of the movable abutment 56 with respect to thefixed abutment 55a.

While the gas for the main burner flows through the thermostatic valve43 as described above, the gas for the pilot burner flows from thesafety valve 24 through passages around the valve 31 and through arcuatepassages c and 11h, formed in the walls of the valve 35 and the conicalbore 16, and through bore 71 into chamber 17, through a filter 72. Thefilterissealed'around the outer end of the bore 71 by means of a rubberor other suitable material gasket 73, which is held' firmly around thebore 71 by means of a fingered leaf spring 74. The spring is locatedbetween the outer side of the filter 72 and a cover plate 75, which issecured over the side opening of the chamber 17, with a gasket 76therebetween, by means of bolts 77.

As canbest be seen in Figure 20f the drawing, gas, after it has passedthrough the filter 72, will flow around the outside of the filter 72 andout of chamber 17 through a vertical and stepped bore 1.8 and through anexternally threaded clamp fitting 78 that is adapted to sealingly clampa piece of tubing (not shown) leading to a pilot burner P. The bore 18is intersected by a step bore 79 in which is rotatably mounted a slottedplug valve 80. By rotating the plug 80 to position varying amounts ofthe slot 80a across the bore 18, the rate of gas flow to the pilotburner may be adjusted. To provide for this adjustment, a threadedsealing plug 81, threaded into an outer threaded portion 79a of the bore79, may be re- 7 moved through an enlarged opening 75a in the coverOperation Should the control or combination valve be installed in aheating system such as a water heater, with the inlet 15 connected to asource of gas supply, the outlet 20 connected to a main burner B, theoutlet 18 connected to a pilot burner P for igniting the main burner andheating a thermocouple T that is connected to the electromagnet 22, theunit 58 inserted in a water tank heated by the burner B, and with theelements of the control in the positions illustrated in the drawing, butwith the valve 43 open and the slot a turned as to be in registrationwith bore 18, the heating system may be placed in operation by pressinginwardly on the button 28. This will bring the washer 31 into engagementwith the upper end of the sleeve 21. Further inward movement of thebutton 28 will cause the washer 31 to flex and to seal the openingthrough the sleeve 21 and to bring the lower-end of the stem 27 intoengagement with the head of the valve 24. Still further movement of thebutton 28 will cause the valve 24 to be opened and the armature on thestem 23 to engage the magnet within the housing 22. At this point, gasmay fiow through the inlet 15, past valve 24,

throughithe openings 21c and 11 channel 11g, opening 11c, grooves 35cand 11h, opening 71, filter-72, ehamber 17, valve slot 80a and outlet 18to the pilot burner. Ignition of the pilot burner will cause heating ofthe thermocouple T so as to energize the magnet 22 to hold the valve 24open. Return movement of the valve 31, by releasing the button 28, willthen permit gas to flow through the sleeve 21, past valve 31, throughpassage 11d, bore 35b, bore 35a, chamber 13, past valve 43, throughopening 110, and out the outlet 20 to the main burner where it would beignited by the pilot burner.

Gas will then continue to flow to the main burner under the control ofthe rod and tube thermostat to raise the water temperature in the tankto the desired temperature, at which point, the rod and tube are in asatisfied condition, that is, the water around the tube 59 is at orabove the control temperature so that it has expanded and pulled thewire or rod 61 inwardlyof the tube to move the abutment 56 to the left,as viewed in Figure 3, to cause the spider 57 to actuate the snap diskover center from its normal biased position and the arm 54a away fromthe actuating sleeve 51. This permits the spring 47 to move and hold thevalve 43 against the valve seat.

Upon the water temperature dropping below the control point, the tube 59will contract and cause the rod 61 to move the abutment 56 and thespider 57 toward the right, thus freeing the snap disk 54 to snap acrosscenter under its own bias and to move the arm 54a toward the right. Ascan be seen in the drawing, the arm 54a engages the head or flange 51aof the sleeve 51 at a point very near the periphery of the disk 54 atfirst. This 7 permits the disk 54 to exert a much greater force on thesleeve 51 at first to break the valve 43 from the valve seat against thepressure of the gas. As soon as the valve is oil the valve seat, lessforce is needed to move it to a further open position and, as the sleeve51 moves toward the right, the arm 54a of the snap disk will rock acrossthe head of the actuating sleeve to exert its opening force against thefar edge of the head 51a. This gives a greater amount of movement of thevalve by the snap disk to hold the valve in its wide open position.

The spring 53 while permitting adjusting movement of the sleeve 51 inthe valve stem 44a, to vary the effective length thereof, frictionallyholds them in adjustment while retaining bearing sleeve 52 in position.

To cut off main gas flow without cutting ofi the pilot gas flow, theplug valve 35 may be moved to the pilot position taking opening 35b outof registration with the opening 11d but leaving groove 35c inregistration with opening 71 and groove 11h. Gas to both burners may becut on" by moving the plug valve to its ofi position where groove 35c isalso out of registration with groove 111: or opening 71.

While I have described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it isto be understood that modifications may be made in the preferredembodiment of the invention, by those skilled in the art, withoutdeparting from the spirit thereof. The scope of the invention must,therefore, be determined from the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A control device, comprising, a valve, means biasing said valvetowards its closed position, said valve having a hollow stem closed atone end, a. bearing sleeve in said stem at said closed end, a valveactuating sleeve adjustable in and extending beyond the open end of saidstem and having a radially and outwardly extending flange thereon at itsouter end, a compression spring between said bearing sleeve and saidactuating sleeve for frictionally holding said actuating sleeve and saidbearing sleeve in their assembled positions in said valve stem, amounting bracket for the control device, said bracket carrying conditionresponsive means for actuating said valve, a guide pin for said valvesupported by said bracket and extending through said actuating sleeveand into said bearing sleeve, said condition responsive means having apivoted cantilever arm that engages the nearest edge only of said sleeveflange when said valve is in its closed position and the far edge onlyof said flange when said valve is in its open position.

2. A control device, comprising, a valve, means biasing said valvetowards its closed position, said valve having a hollow stern closed atone end, a. bearing sleeve in said stem at said closed end, a valveactuating sleeve adjustable in and extending beyond the: open end ofsaid stem and having a radially and outwardly extending flange thereonat its outer end, a compression spring between said bearing sleeve andsaid actuating sleeve for frictionally holding said actuating sleeve andsaid bearing sleeve in their assembled positions in said valve stem, amounting bracket for the control device, said bracket carrying conditionresponsive means for actuating said valve, a guide pin for said valvesupported by said bracket and extending through said actuating sleeveand into said bearing sleeve.

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